After leaving Saturday night's win over LSU with a shoulder injury in the third quarter, Ole Miss standout running back Kewan Lacy's status for the Rebels' upcoming nationally ranked showdown at Florida is uncertain.
Ole Miss coach Pete Golding confirmed X-rays on Lacy's shoulder were negative but offered no update on his status moving forward outside of his RB1 wanting to re-enter the game and play through the pain. Lacy had 43 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries before exiting after landing hard on his left shoulder.
One of the nation's most prolific playmakers last fall, Lacy rushed for a single-season program record 1,567 yards and an SEC-leading 24 touchdowns for the playoff-bound Rebels.
Lacy, who left his team's opening win over Louisville with a thigh bruise, will almost assuredly be on the Rebels' initial player availability report on Wednesday evening.
The SEC's availability reports are updated nightly with final designations due 90 minutes before kickoff on game day. Player status designations include "available," "probable," "questionable," "doubtful," or "out" before game day. On Saturday, players on the availability report are marked as "available," "game time decision," or "out."
Next man up for Rebels
As part of a handsome transfer class in Oxford, the Rebels signed three running backs behind Lacy this offseason to bolster their backfield, including sophomore and former LSU signee JT Lindsey. Lindsey had five total touches for 28 yards from scrimmage in the second half over the weekend following Lacy's exit.
Makhi Frazier played sparingly in the first two games for the Rebels but did not appear in Saturday's win. He rushed for 520 yards and two scores last fall at Michigan State and appears to be RB3 at Ole Miss.
Joshua Dye, a transfer from Southern Utah, rushed for 28 touchdowns and eclipsed 1,800 yards on the ground last season as an FCS All-American.
Offensive changes, path to CFP
With any shoulder injury associated with a running back, it's something that could potentially affect Lacy the rest of the campaign. His impact on this Ole Miss offense can't be understated, even with Heisman frontrunner Trinidad Chambliss calling the shots at quarterback.
Fourth-ranked Ole Miss opened as a 2.5-point underdog at No. 21 Florida this week, with the line since moving to 3.5 points. Lacy's availability may play a small role in that, if any, but speaks moreso to the Rebels' challenging slate in SEC play the rest of the way.
Ole Miss (3-0) has a better resume than any Power Four team at the moment with victories over Louisville and LSU and appeared in our updated College Football Playoff projection this week.
Remaining schedule for Rebels
- at No. 21 Florida, Saturday
- at Vanderbilt
- vs. No. 19 Missouri
- at No. 1 Texas
- vs. Auburn
- vs. No. 2 Georgia
- at Oklahoma
- vs. Wofford
- vs. No. 24 Mississippi State
There's still five top-25 opponents left on the slate, which doesn't include an Oklahoma squad that could give this offense all it wants in mid-November on the road.
Getting to 10 wins gets the Rebels to a CFP bid, and potentially nine as well. The CFP selection committee's protocol also states that player availability can be factored into a team's overall grade and how they're judged during the deliberation process.
Keep that in mind moving forward if Lacy is not 100% or has to miss a game or two against elite competition due to injury.
The Rebels are now 5-1 under Pete Golding overall after winning two CFP games last season. While Saturday night's emotional win over LSU was a statement, it was not the team's "Super Bowl" Golding said, and bigger matchups are on the way.
Golding appreciated his team's "four-quarter fight" against the Tigers and how it could propel the Rebels moving forward.
"The goals and expectations isn't about winning one football game in September," Golding said. "Am I super proud of them? Absolutely. That's three years since we've been here we've come home with that trophy. That's the expectation as it should be."
